Spain: with the children of Asia”With the children of Asia… let’s search for Jesus” is the theme of this year’s Day of Missionary Childhood, which is due to be celebrated in Spain on Sunday 25 January. With this initiative the Pontifical Charity for Missionary Childhood (POM) is launching a five-year project that will cross the five continents of the earth with the aim of ensuring that children and adolescents continue to attain a consciousness of the universal Church. Asia is the largest and most extensive continent of the planet. Moreover, it is the one most in need of evangelization. “I am pleased by the fact that this year our attention is being focused on Asia, and the fundamental reason is because this continent has the most fertile earth for the seed of the Gospel to grow and develop with great strength in future”, says the Most Rev. Francisco Pérez, Archbishop of Pamplona-Tudela and National Director of the POM, in his Message for the Day. “Asian children number many millions – continues the Message – and it is to them we must look with the strong awareness that the future will depend on what is being taught to them now”. Archbishop Pérez also believes they can make a valuable contribution to the rest of society: they can contribute some values that “in the West are disappearing in the dark cultural night” of our time and can show “the innate moral wisdom and spiritual intuition that is typical of the Asian spirit”. The Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio M. Rouco Varela, has also written a letter to children to mark the Day. In it he thanks God for the fact that, in Madrid, there are so many children who know and love Jesus, and asks them to think of such countries as India, China, and Japan, countries that “are all situated in Asia. They are countries with many children, but the number of Christians is very small”. And he asks them to pray for “all of them, who are in search of Jesus, although they may not know it”.Ireland: the Week of Catholic schoolsFrom January 26 until February 1st the Catholic Church in Ireland will celebrate Catholic Schools Week. This year’s theme is “Catholic schools. A vision for life”, taken from the pastoral letter published last year by the country’s bishops and called “Vision 08. A vision for Catholic Education”. The letter provides the basis for prayers and meditation scheduled next week in Catholic schools along with two conferences that will inaugurate the Week of Education, one in Dublin and the other in Belfast. The website of Ireland’s Bishops’ Conference (www.catholicbishops.ie) provides brochures and a poster for elementary and high schools along with publicity for parishes. In a video posted on the website of the Episcopal Conference, Bishop Leo O’Reilly, President of the Episcopal Commission for Education explained, “Catholic schools distinguish themselves since they base their education on the teachings and the life of Christ. They reflect the pedagogy prevailing in society focused upon the value of children and the respect of the human person”. As relates to the debate sprung in Irish society regarding the opportunity of Church-run Catholic schools, Msgr. O’ Reilly said he believes that “Catholic schools play an important role in Ireland’s future education and that the main reason why the Church provides for Catholic schools is the parents’ wish to raise their offspring as Catholic faithful. Until this yearning exists, the Church will work for the establishment of Catholic.Germany: canvassing for freedom of religion at schoolThe success of the “Pro Reli” campaign, promoted in Berlin by the population that collected over 70,000 signatures for equating the class of religion with the class of ethics in the schools, has been hailed by the German Catholic Church. In a release published few days ago, mgr. Robert Zollitsch, President of the German Bishops Conference, expressed his satisfaction for the campaign and commented that “what the population managed to obtain through its persuasive power, determination and courage is admirable”. By signing for the campaign, “the population has voted for freedom of religion in the schools”, went on Zollitsch. “They have publicly shown that the class of religion is a form of education that cannot be missed, all the more so in a city that has always stood out for its religious and ideological pluralism. Now it’s up to the political decision-makers not to fall short of the clear vote of the population”, concluded Zollitsch. 170,000 signatures had to be collected by 21st January for voting at the referendum. The minimum was reached before the deadline; if the result of the referendum is in favour of the campaigners, the class of religion, which is now optional, would be equated to the compulsory class of ethics that was introduced in the capital in 2006. The students of Berlin’s schools might choose therefore which class they prefer to attend.
